Into the Greenlandic wilderness: A four-day trek to Kapisillit

In the beginning of September, I set off on a challenging yet incredibly rewarding four-day trek to the tiny village of Kapisillit, deep in the Nuuk Fjord. It was a trek I’d been planning with my friends Torben and Max for a long time. It would be my first multi-day trek in Greenland! I’ve done multi-day treks before, but never in such diverse terrain, so I was excited for the challenge, but as I found out later, I really underestimated it.

The trek to Kapisillit is a Greenland classic. Usually, it begins in Nuuk and ends in Kapisillit, or vice versa, but due to time pressure, we decided to cut out the first part and start the hike from shelter 4 by Koppefjorden. But things didn’t go quite as planned and we ended up starting at shelter 5 by Ameralikfjorden instead.

I kept a diary during our trek, noting the landscapes we trekked through, the wildlife we saw, the challenges we faced and the many joys we had. Here is my diary from our four-day trek to Kapisillit:

Day 1, Monday September 2nd 2019

We were supposed to begin our trip at 9 AM, sailing into Koppefjorden to shelter 4 where our trek would begin, but heavy rain and wind in Nuuk got our boat charter cancelled. Instead, we arranged to be taken to shelter 5 by Ameralikfjorden the same evening as the wind was supposed to drop. Luckily, it did and along with it came beautiful sunshine. So we set off from Nuuk at 7.30 PM and sailed into Ameralikfjorden during golden hour, ending the trip below shelter 5 just before dusk. It took a small climb to get to the shelter, and then we spent the rest of the evening playing cards and enjoying our first night surrounded by beautiful nature – and silence.

Before going to sleep, we went outside to brush our teeth and witnessed incredible yet brief northern lights in the late evening. A great start to our trip!

Day 2, Tuesday September 3rd 2019

We got up quite late, around 10.30 AM, after a cold night. We had our breakfast, played a quiz game and then set off at 12.30 PM, ready for what was supposed to be a short day of hiking. Three hours, to be precise, but it took eight.

Dark clouds were hanging above us, we could only hope that they wouldn’t start spitting on us. Unfortunately, they did, and it made the 16 km hike long and tedius, especially because most of the way was an uphill climb. I had little energy at the first part which just went up and up, but miraculously gained some at the steepest part. I got up there in a flash and felt ready to keep going in good pace, but then Max and Torben spotted an Arctic hare that they (sadly) wanted to shoot. I’m not keen on hunting, but I do believe it’s better than buying meat from the industry (although not eating meat altogether is of course the best thing to do for animals – and the environment).

I didn’t want to join them, so I decided to walk as far as I could without getting lost. Unfortunately, that wasn’t far as I didn’t know the route after I’d reached the top. From there, I could see them and I heard when they shot the poor hare. It was still raining and I was getting very cold and frustrated as it took them 1,5 hours instead of the 30 minutes they had said to me. I was fine when we got walking again, but the rain only got worse and we still had a long way to go. It didn’t take long until we saw more Arctic hares, and we were even able to get right close to one of them. Thankfully, the guys promised me not to shoot any more!

The rest of the day was tough and cold, so I couldn’t have been happier when we finally saw the shelter in the far distance from a mountain pass. We still had a way to go and the sun was about to set, but we reached the shelter just before nightfall, way later than expected. We had our well-deserved dinner and then went to bed, completely exhausted. It was an awful night for me as I was still cold and wet and I’d been stupid enough to bring a light-weight summer sleeping bag instead of my slightly heavier winter one. I’ll never make that mistake again!

Day 3, Wednesday September 4th 2019

I woke up at 7 AM, cold and damp, and I was not looking forward to another gruelling hiking day in cold and rainy weather. It had been raining all night and we were expecting the worst, but luckily – very luckily – the sun had gotten out and warmed my cold cheeks. We hung our wet clothes to dry on our backpacks and then set off at 9 AM, ready to conquer the first ascend of the day.

It was a beautiful day throughout, we only got a few drops of rain and not much wind. The mountains looked incredible with the sun shining on them. As we climbed over mountain passes and hiked through meadows, we stopped several times to pluck tasty berries. Tasting the sweetness of the earth while enjoy the warm sun helped tremendously with my mood!

The hike also wasn’t as tough as the day before although it was a longer distance, 22 km. We walked by Qooqqut Nuan, a paradisiacal bay with a remote restaurant and tourist huts. A few moments later, Max spotted nine reindeer by one of the many lakes we passed by that day. We were so excited as we’d seen plenty of reindeer tracks but had yet to see the actual reindeer! It was beautiful to watch them.

Our shelter was not far from the fourth big lake, placed on a hill in a valley so we had a last ascend to overcome before finally getting away from the increasing wind. We got up there at 6.45 PM, just under 10 hours after we left the previous shelter. Just as I got up the hill, I spotted nine more reindeer. Two bulls were fighting, which was interesting to observe. It’s not everyday that you see that! And 18 reindeer in one day – how lucky can you get!?

Day 4, Thursday September 5th 2019

We got up at 4 AM as we had a long day ahead of us, intending to walk the last stretch of 36 kilometers to Kapisillit, our end goal. It had been snowing in the night, and it had covered the mountain tops with a light layer, but it was foggy and drizzling when we got out of the shelter at 6.30 AM.

The first part of the hike was downhill and easy, and it didn’t take long before we spotted four Arctic hares and, moments later, three reindeer appeared. What an incredible start to the day!

The 36 km stretch was marked as mostly flat on the hiking map, so we had all been excited to hike through what we thought was easy terrain. And it was easy terrain for the first few kilometers, but as soon as we got down to Ameralikfjorden, we found out that we had been too hopeful, way too hopeful. Because most of the 36 km stretch involved hiking through dense vegetation of bushes and short trees that took forever to fight our way through. When Narsarsuaq says that they have Greenland’s only forest, they’re lying. I swear.

At one point, we were walking so slow through the vegetation that we decided to go down to the rocky beach and chance it there instead. It meant taking a detour, but it also meant that we could walk much faster. Unfortunately, the combination of fighting with tree roots and walking on sharp rocks absolutely killed my feet and ankles. I twisted my ankles and got blisters all over my feet, and my wet shoes from the first hiking day only made it worse. It made it almost unbearable to walk, so I was considerably slower towards the end of the day, and I was already a lot slower than the guys because of my short legs…

There was an upside to walking along Ameralikfjorden though. It was perfect to spot wildlife. We saw a peregrine falcon, lots of ravens, three eagles, two common loons, hundreds of ducks and a bunch of ptarmigans which I saved from death by rifle.

Because of my painful feet and the fact that the forest had slowed us down, we didn’t get to Kapisillit that day, but instead “only” walked 24 km to shelter 9, which we got to at 8 PM after 13,5 hours of strenuous hiking. I was absolutely exhausted and my feet and legs felt like they were burning. But we had seen some beautiful animals along the way and the sunset over the fjord had been incredible. Night time also didn’t disappoint. The skies cleared and revealed the most amazing northern lights show I’ve ever seen. No light pollution whatsoever and a crystal clear sky mixed with active auroras. It was pure magic. So in regard to wildlife and nature, it had been the best day, but in regard to hiking, it was by far the worst.

Day 5, Friday September 6th 2019

We got up at 4 AM again and left the shelter at 6 AM as we intended to hike the rest of the way to Kapisillit and then hike 14 km to and from an icefjord from the village. Friday was supposed to be our relaxed day with only the icefjord hike as we had planned to be in Kapisillit already, but because of our struggles the day before, we still had 12 km left to complete of the trek to Kapisillit.

My feet were still dead, so I walked very slow, at snail’s pace. Thankfully, the terrain in the beginning was a lot easier than the day before, but the last stretch involved more rocky beaches and close vegetation. It got to the point where I almost couldn’t walk anymore, and I had to support myself to Torben and Max to conquer the last stretch as it was steep cliffside hiking.

After lots and lots of struggles with two incredibly patient guys, we finally reached Kapisillit at 1 PM after 7 hours of hiking (more like dragging myself…)! I can’t describe the relief and happiness I felt when I finally saw the multicoloured houses of the tiny village, home to just 63 people.

We went straight to the shop and bought as many snacks and unhealthy foods as we could find and then laid down in the grass to relax. We decided not to go to the icefjord after all as my feet were simply too dead, and I was the one that had wanted to go there in the first place. I will do it some other time!

Instead, we went to the hostel to ask for a dry place to stay as it had started to rain, and our boat charter back to Nuuk wasn’t before 8 PM. We were invited in by Danish war veterans who had rented the entire place. It was like two different worlds meeting at the end of the world, but it couldn’t have been a more wonderful afternoon. We felt very welcome and loved their company. They invited us to eat with them and talked openly about their war experiences and post-war lives. Coming in as a pacifist, it was a whole other world to me, but I can honestly say that they opened my eyes and touched my heart. We spent five enriching hours with them and gained a small insight into the life of a war veteran. The icefjord would have been wonderful too, but it will always be there, and this could not have been a better end to our trip.

At 8 PM, we finally caught the boat back to Nuuk, and after two hours on the water, watching day turn to night, we finally arrived in the city of my heart, thousands of incredible memories richer. I was so excited to finally take a shower and not least to sleep and rest my poor feet, which did – eventually – get back to normal.

We ended up hiking 74 km in all over four days with four shelter nights. We saw some incredible landscapes, hiked through all sorts of terrain and saw 21 reindeer, 7 Arctic hares plus many interesting birds. It was hands-down the hardest physical challenge of my life, and I learned in the most brutal way how NOT to prepare for four days of terrain hiking and nights in cold shelters. But still, it had been a wonderful experience, and I would do it all over again – but with better preparation next time!